Quevedo Tawny Reserve

Quevedo Tawny Reserve

Deep reddish brown colour with a rich nose of steamed fruit pudding. The flavour was an exceedingly rich and harmonious combination of sweet plummy fruits, burnt sugars and smokey oak. This was an excellent example of this port style which I would be happy to drink everyday and at this price I could afford to.

Eirados White 20 Year Old (Bottled 2012)

Eirados White 20 Year Old (Bottled 2012)

This port had a distinctive bright orange brown colour. The nose was a combination of rich orange and nutty nuances. The flavour was gentle but rich comprising hints of orange and a subtle oakey smokiness.

Kopke White 20 Year Old

Kopke White 20 Year Old 

Clear mid-brown colour with an orange tinge. Rich nose of sweet dried oak. Sweet and oakey with a light contribution of dried fruits and a hint of oranges. The wood being to the fore gave this port a pleasant astringency within its sweetness.

Quevedo Tawny 10 Year Old

Quevedo Tawny 10 Year Old 

Clear deep brown colour with a lightish nose of rich dried fruits. Sweet satisfyingly complex mixture of dried fruits and old oak. Very good!

Niepoort Tawny

Niepoort Tawny 

Reddish brown colour with a light nutty nose. Sweet dried plums with an oakey contribution.

Porto Cruz Pink

Porto Cruz Pink 

Bright clear pink colour with a light floral nose. This port had a light style being moderately sweet and redolent with summer fruits.

Quevedo White

Quevedo White

Pale gold colour with a honeyish nose. Typically sweet and grapey.

Restaurante Romão Tawny

Restaurante Romão Tawny 

Deep reddish brown colour and a sweet plummy nose having a hint of wood. This port was very sweet having the taste of a well aged cherry jam with an undercurrent of dry wood.

Porto Cruz Tawny 40 Year Old

Porto Cruz Tawny 40 Year Old 

Clear mid-brown colour which was a shade lighter than the 30 Year Old. The nose was rich with a slightly medicinal character. The full body and long finish were outstanding. The flavour was very complex containing a touch of fruity sweetness, a good chew of woody oak, and a pleasant contribution from aldehyde elements.

Porto Cruz Tawny 30 Year Old

Porto Cruz Tawny 30 Year Old 

Clear mid-brown colour with a rich nose of sweet oak. A full mouthful of complex flavours combining sweet old dried fruits and dry oak with a hint of molasses.

Porto Cruz Colheita 1992 (Bottled 2012)

Porto Cruz Colheita 1992 (Bottled 2012) 

Clear dark brown colour with a typical but light nose. Good full bodied taste and good balance between the sweetness of dried fruits and the dry oak. Not overly complex which you would expect in a colheita but the crisp and clean character was enjoyable.

Porto Cruz Tawny 20 Years Old

Porto Cruz Tawny 20 Years Old 

Slightly turbid mid-brown colour with an amber tinge. Rich nose of sweet oak. This port was noticeably sweet with a distinctive orangey taste. The assistant was concerned about its condition and it seems her concerns were justified as there was a gritty feel in the aftertaste.

Restaurante O Maleiro Tawny 1894

Restaurante O Maleiro Tawny 1894

Well we were told that this offering, which was squeezed out of a small barrel on the counter, was 120 years old. It was a thick murky reddish brown with fruit and molasses on the nose. The sweet complexity of this port carried fresh grape flavours with sweet dried fruits and astringent oak.

Martha's Colheita 2005 (Bottled 2014)

Martha's Colheita 2005 (Bottled 2014)

Clear mid brown colour with a sweet nutty nose. The dry oak was to the fore over the sweetness of the dried fruit flavours. Very tasty!

Martha's Tawny

Martha's Tawny 

Clear deep brown with an amber tinge. The nose married dried fruits with a hint of brown sugar. A full sweet mouthful of sweet dried fruits and dry wood. A good example of a basic tawny.

Martha's White

Martha's White

Pale gold colour with a light grapey nose. This port was quite sweet and grapey with a warming body.

Porto Reccua Rosé Port

Porto Reccua Rosé Port 

Deep pink colour with a gentle fruity nose. The taste was sweet, fruity and full so edging more towards a ruby than other ports of this type.

Quinta Vale de Sapos Tawny

Quinta Vale de Sapos Tawny 

Reddish brown colour with a nutty nose. Rich fruity and nutty. Well balanced.

Quinta de Marrocos Meia-Seco

Quinta de Marrocos Meia-Seco 

Light brown colour with a honey nose. Just enough sugar to allow the grape flavours to come through and therefore a refreshingly good apertiser.

Quinta do Portal Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2014)

Quinta do Portal Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2014) 

Clear brown colour with a tinge of amber. The nose had a distinct impression of freshly sawn green wood with a hint of dried fruits underneath. The astringency of dry oak flavours was to the fore in the taste. It was closely followed by a sweet combination of dried fruits.

Quinta do Portal LBV 2008 (Bottled 2012)

Quinta do Portal LBV 2008 (Bottled 2012) 

Deep ruby colour with a slightly purple rim and sweet plummy fruits on the nose. There were good rich berry and plum flavours carried on a slightly tannic body.

Da Foz Tawny

Da Foz Tawny 

Bright mid-brown colour with a nutty nose. The smoothness of this entry level port was impressive. It had a satisfyingly good body with a good balance between the sweetness of the dried fruits and the dryness of the oak contribution.

Da Foz Ruby

Da Foz Ruby 

Good deep ruby colour with fruit and plums on the nose. This was strikingly smooth for an entry level port. There was a good plummy grapiness in a satisfyingly full body.

Da Foz White

Da Foz White 

Orangey golden colour with a honey nose. Moderately sweet allowing the berry flavours to come through. This was fresh and fruity with a satisfying body.

Royal Oporto Rosé

Royal Oporto Rosé 

Bright reddish pink in colour with fresh cherries and strawberries on the nose. Moderately rich and hitting a good middle point on the sweetness scale the predominant flavour was of cherries with other summer fruits in the background.

Porto da Casa de Taberninha do Manel

Porto da Casa de Taberninha do Manel 

Reddish brown colour with a very sweet nose. This port was the sweetest tawny I had ever tasted. The cloying suggary sweetness overwhelmed anything else that might have been going on but I guess there was some fruit and wood in there somewhere. Can't complain though as it was given to us after we paid the bill.

http://taberninhadomanel.pai.pt/ 

Cockburn's Vintage 2007

Cockburn's Vintage 2007 

A deep rich ruby colour prefaced the substantial and plummy nose. This had a robust and fruity body with a lot of tannin quite forward in the taste. It will take longer to mature than the single quinta offering but has the potential to become a more full bodied wine once the tannins have faded.

Quinta dos Canais Vintage 2007

Quinta dos Canais Vintage 2007 

Deep and rich ruby colour combined with a good fruity nose. There was a substantial mouthful of rich plummy fruit flavours which will come to the fore as the residual tannins fade.

Cockburn's LBV 2008

Cockburn's LBV 2008 

Deep ruby colour and a light fruit on the nose. The taste had a well structured combination of fresh berry flavours and tannins in a satisfyingly full body.

Cockburn's Special Reserve

Cockburn's Special Reserve 

Bright ruby colour with a fresh and fruity nose. Youthful and fresh with strong fresh grape flavours and a lot of harsh tannin.

Cockburn's Fine White

Cockburn's Fine White

Bright yellow colour with a gold tinge. The nose was clean and fruity with a distinctively citrus character. The citrus theme carried through in the tasting as the sweetness of this port revealed fresh orange flavours combined with a honey warmth.

Graham's Tawny 20 Year Old (Bottled 2013)

Graham's Tawny 20 Year Old (Bottled 2013)

Clear mid-brown colour which was just a little paler than the 10 year old. The nose held a lot of promise being richly filled with the smell of a Christmas pudding cooking. The taste did not disappoint combining dried fruits and orange peal with dry oak and a hint of molasses.

Graham's Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2012)

Graham's Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2012) 

Clear mid-brown colour with a full nose of woody dried fruits. This was a full bodied port with rich dried fruits tempered with a woody astringency.

Graham's Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage 2001

Graham's Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage 2001 

Lightly oxidised ruby in colour with a richly plummy nose. Beautifully rich and full bodied with well developed fruit flavours.

Graham's Crusted Port (Bottled in 2004)

Graham's Crusted Port (Bottled in 2004)

Slightly oxidised ruby colour. The nose was quite full with a predominance of plum jam. On tasting it came across as being like a slightly corked vintage. The body was full and fruit but there were hints of aldehydes giving it a noticeably medicinal edge.

Churchill's Tawny 10 Year Old

Churchill's Tawny 10 Year Old

Deep well oxidised brown colour with a surprisingly light nose. This was quite dry which held back the usual dried fruits and oak flavours. As a result it was not dissimilar to an aged dry white. From this tasting it appears that Churchill's house style is towards the dry end of the spectrum so if you prefer your ports dry it would be worth giving them a try.

Churchill's Ruby Reserve

Churchill's Ruby Reserve

Bright ruby colour with a light but plummy nose. Moderately sweet and fruity but somewhat spoiled by a preponderance of young vegetable elements. Perhaps this has been emphasised by the relatively dry style of this wine.

Churchill's Dry White

Churchill's Dry White

Bright golden colour with a floral nose. Quite dry with only a little fruit coming through. There was a noticeable contribution from the wood though.

Cálem Tawny Reserve

Cálem Tawny Reserve

Deep clear brown colour with rich fruity molasses on the nose. There was a substantial fruity body carrying a complexity of sweet dried fruits and dry slightly burnt oak elements. 

Taylor's LBV 2008 (Bottled in 2013)

Taylor's LBV 2008 (Bottled in 2013)

There was a dark ruby colour with a hint of purple. The nose contained moderately plummy fruit elements with hints of spice. As one would expect of a Taylor's LBV, this was a competent and enjoyable port. The sweetness of the berry flavours was balanced with a slightly peppery spicey component so that neither was overly predominant.

Vista Alegre Vintage 1996

Vista Alegre Vintage 1996

Deep ruby colour with a richly fruity nose. A well balanced port combining a rich depth with a plummy fruitiness. This wasn't the most intense and complex port that I have ever tasted, however it was enjoyable and approachable. It had the qualities of a true vintage port at a very reasonable price.

Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas Vintage 1988

Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas Vintage 1988

It is over four years since I last tried a Vargellas of this vintage so it will be interesting see if there is much difference between the tastings.

This time the colour was almost inky black with just a hint of ruby to lighten it. A touch of amber could be seen in the rim. The nose was rich and redolent with plummy fruit scents. It had a sweet and full flavour of sweet plums balanced against a spicey tannic pepperiness. There wasn't a lot of depth but the combination rich fruit and pepper made this a satisfying digestive after a rich meal.

Quinta do Crasto Vintage 1999

Quinta do Crasto Vintage 1999

Well blow me down, I had intended writing this one up tomorrow having decanted said port this afternoon. However the missus has been hammering the decanter all evening and if I don't do it now it won't get done. Must be jolly good port judging from the way she is knocking it back. I must add that this is a very special bottle as it was given to us during a visit to the quinta a few years back. Muito obrigado Jorge.

There was a dark almost inky ruby colour that was coupled with a plummy slightly oily nose. This was not the most intense port that I have ever tasted but I reckon we cracked this bottle at just the right time. Rich plummy fruit flavours combined harmoniously with subtle oily aldehydes to give a satisfyingly rounded experience. It didn't have the depth of a classic vintage but showed what could be achieved from a selected wine of a not quite so auspicious harvest. It must be good as the missus has just put the last of it in her glass.

Vista Alegre Tawny Over 40 Years Old (Bottled 2012)

Vista Alegre Tawny Over 40 Years Old (Bottled 2012)

Clear brownish amber colour with a nose reminiscent of leather tack. The depth and complexity of this port were quite striking. The underlying butterscotch sweetness of sultanas presented a backdrop to complex dry flavours derived from the oak. Tasting this against a couple of excellent ten year olds demonstrated how the prolonged ageing contributed to the development of depth and complexity as this port was significantly superior in both qualities.

Quinta de Val da Figueira Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2012)

Quinta de Val da Figueira Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2012)

Clear deep brownish amber colour with  a rich and fruity nose. This port was full bodied being characterised by complex astringent wood flavours tempered by the sweetness of dried fruits. The depth was striking making it hard to believe that this was just a 10 year old. If you can track this down definitely buy a bottle as, in my opinion, this is the one to judge others by. It comes into its own as a superb digestive at the end of an excellent meal.

Dalva Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2011)

Dalva Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2011)

Clear deep amber colour with a rich nose of dried fruits. On tasting the sweetness of dried fruits was balanced by the astringency of the contribution from the oak. This meant it was not as sweet as some ten year olds therefore allowing greater appreciation of the complex flavours derived from the barrel ageing.

Fonseca Vintage 1963

Fonseca Vintage 1963

Clear ruby red with a slight amber tinge having a rich plummy and  fruity nose. Two to three hours after decanting it had opened out into a harmonious experience of plummy richness in a full body with just the right amount of hinting at oily aldehydes. After fifty years the depth of its youth has been replaced with complete integration of the component flavours.

Vista Alegre White 20 Years Old (Bottled 2013)

Vista Alegre White 20 Years Old (Bottled 2013)

The appearance of this port was not like any I had seen before being a bright copper coloured brown. This colour was lighter than a tawny port but significantly darker than your average wood aged white port. The nose was rich and almost tary yet it had a honey sweetness at the same time. There was substantial oaky body on tasting with the sweetness of the grapes almost overcome by the bitter astringency of the wood. This port had complexity and depth but was very different from a tawny of the same age having noticeable less fruit flavours coming through. This made for a fairly unique port wine experience as the contribution from the oak barrel was very much to the fore but pleasantly matched with a gentle sweet component from the grapes.

Sainsbury's Quinta da Eira Velha Vintage 2000

Sainsbury's Quinta da Eira Velha Vintage 2000

This was bought from Sainsbury's under their "taste the difference" label about five years ago. It was obviously a bit young then but it was a silly price. By the time we had used up all our vouchers and Nectar points and had five for the price of six it was about £15 a bottle. The wine had a really deep ruby colour and a strikingly fruity nose. It still tasted quite young with lots of fresh grape flavour and noticeable tannins. Not a lot of depth so this may end up being one of those pleasantly easy drinking ports in another five years or so.

It is interesting to note that this must have been one of the last vintages made at the quinta before it was bought by the Taylor Fladgate group. I doubt that they kept the vinification equipment at the quinta as the grapes may now be shipped off to their established adegas. Historically and uniquely the ports from this quinta used to be shipped to Newfoundland for aging prior to being sold on the Canadian market.

We opened another bottle on 11th September 2015. The wine was still strikingly dark with lots of fresh grape and tannin flavours. On the basis of this tasting I think I will revise my prediction of five years to ten years for this port to reach its best.

Royal Oporto Colheita 1999 (Bottled 2013)

Royal Oporto Colheita 1999 (Bottled 2013)

Clear bright amber colour with a strong barley sugar nose. This was a lovely smooth port which was moderately complex with the sweetness of dried fruits balanced by an oaky dryness.